O’Leary’s remarkable horse Tiger Roll, priced at 10/1, delivered for the punters on Saturday after he denied Pleasant Company in a pulsating finish. Both the trainer and owner had doubts about the horse jumping the fences, but he duly did it and stayed on to get to the line by the narrowest margin.

Coincidentally, David Mullins on Pleasant Company, had ridden Rule the World for Gigginstown House to win the race in 2016. The Willie Mullins trained and Malcolm Denmark owned Pleasant Company was 9th in the 2017 Aintree Grand National when ridden by Ruby Walsh.

The hero of the hour was Davy Russell who has come back in a few years from losing the main jockey tag at Gigginstown House to be the outstanding jockey in Britain and Ireland this year, after some brilliant rides at Cheltenham and now Aintree.

Tiger Roll has won almost €1 million in prize money including his three remarkable win at Cheltenham. He won the Triumph Hurdle for 4 y/o olds in 2014; the National Hunt Chase in 2017; and the Cross Country race in 2018.

Prior to Tiger Roll, the last Aintree Grand National winner to run at Kilbeggan was Rhyme N’Reason, who was unplaced in 1983 in Kilbeggan for Jeremy Maxwell, before going on to win the Irish Grand National in 1985 and Aintree Grand National 1988.

So it might be a good idea to watch out for future Cheltenham and Aintree at the eight race meetings in Kilbeggan this year!!

The feature race at Friday's meeting is the Irish Stallion EBF Mares Nov Chase €15,000 sponsored by the European Breeders Fund supported by a good handicap chase, hurdle racing, and the bumper.

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